When the LDP's conservative wing forced a leadership election to replace the embattled Ishiba in October last year, many expected his ally Shinjiro Koizumi the young, telegenic son of a previous prime minister to win. Instead, Japan's party of government for most of the past seven decades took a gamble on his ultra-conservative rival, Sanae Takaichi, installing her as the country's first female prime minister.
Taiwan's government has accused China of breaching international law by drilling for oil and gas inside Taiwan's exclusive economic zone (EEZ) and immediately demanded it halt the activity. The statement from the office of Taiwan's president, Lai Ching-te, came after revelations first reported by the Guardian that several Chinese oil rigs and associated vessels had been detected inside Taiwan's EEZ, near the disputed Pratas Islands, which are under Taiwanese control.